Hey guys, ready to hear how our dear Dimitri is doing? Well read and find out! Thanks for reading.
Also a HUGE Thank you to my beta; ItaSaku1, who is very patient and understands what I'm trying to say in my less eloquent moments, and helps me with my American spelling and such.
Gina xx
DPOV
After the meeting, I and several others were told to relax for a couple of hours. The meeting had been an introduction to the layout of the house. It was big; four large rooms downstairs, three bedrooms upstairs, one with a suite and a bathroom. There was also an attic bedroom with a shower and a separate suite. But most importantly there was a basement. That was where the center of the operation was, that was certain. It also made our operation a little easier, as it allowed us to corner the Strigoi into one room. The house reminded me, painfully, of the house Rose had been held hostage in, in Spokane. The day she had killed her first Strigoi; the first of many. The old emotions that had left that day started to rise again, reminding me of the moment that I had found out that she was missing.
iMy mind took me back to Lissa's room at the ski lodge. In my mind's eye, I saw her sitting on the edge of her bed, tears rolling down her face as she repeated over and over that she had no idea where Rose was. I remember feeling so helpless; the worst feeling in the world, especially when you spend your entire life protecting others. It killed me to know that I couldn't protect her. Not when I had finally accepted that I did love her; our time on the roof had been the turning point. As I had sat with Lissa, trying to calm her, my only wish had been to join her in crying; to mourn the loss of the girl I had loved. The rational part of my mind; the trained Guardian part, told me that there was no way she would live, my heart, on the other hand, refused to listen. I couldn't show any of this though; I had to sit, stone-faced, as the likelihood of Rose still being alive dwindled more by the second. It was the curse of the guardian; to never mourn, to never cry, laugh, or shout; to live a half-life, one that was never completely your own. I had never resented that up until that point, before that I saw it as my duty. But with Rose's life in the equation, it seemed like a barrier. Right then, following orders was the hardest thing in the world. The mantra "They come first" had never tasted so bitter.
Most of the time waiting with Lissa was a blur, but I did remember a conversation we had had. The rest of the Guardians had left to help in locating them, so we were alone in the room. I don't remember what I had said to spark it off; probably along the lines of it will be alright or something equally idiotic. Lissa's eyes had shot up from studying the carpet to my eyes. Hers were red ringed and bloodshot, and showed a spark of anger, it had taken me a moment to realize it was aimed at me. "How can you say that? How can you be so unaffected by this? You're her mentor. You're supposed to care when your student is in mortal danger" She shouted, pointing an accusing finger at me. She honestly thought I didn't care? Caring too much was the problem! I didn't know how to respond to her without giving my feelings away. "You think I'm not affected by this?" was all I could come up with. "No, you're not, none of you Guardians do. You just act like this isn't a big deal, like you have no emotional connections to anyone." A response left my mouth before I could rein it in. "We act that way because it's what is expected of us. Our job is to protect Moroi, not to get emotional; it could cloud our judgment." I said, even I could hear the venomous edge to the words. Lissa looked shocked, but wasn't looking at me; she looked past me, off to the side. "You do care about her" she whispered, almost inaudibly. I didn't think she meant for me to hear, or even say it out loud, but I answered anyway. "Of course, she's my student, my responsibility." Lissa shook her head slightly, looked back at me, and smiled slightly. I know now that she would have been trying to see my aura, maybe she did. I wonder what she saw, I would have to ask.
I sat on one of the chairs around the kitchen table, reminiscing about the past so intently, that I was startled when Stan walked in. He gave me a slightly amused look. "You ok?" he asked me, not quite keeping the laughter out of his voice. I chuckled slightly, running a hand over my eyes, I replied "Yeah, just thinking. I'm trying to figure out the best surveillance spots around the house and warehouse." I said, covering from my moment of incompetence. I couldn't let on that my mind was miles away. Stan shook his head slightly muttering something that sounded like "God, he never stops." Before turning to me and holding the coffee pot up. "Want one? It's been a long day" "Sure, thanks" I said gratefully. As Stan sat my mug down in front of me, a girl I didn't know walked into the kitchen and poured herself a drink. I hadn't seen her face fully yet, but her hair was a dark mahogany color, falling just longer than her shoulders. There was no way she was a guardian, she wasn't toned enough and lacked the posture and grace that most Guardians held themselves with. She was also too short to be Moroi. She looked human and lacked the tattoo, so she wasn't an alchemist, but I couldn't figure out what she was doing here. Before I could ask, she turned around so I could see her entire face. I nearly gasped, but managed to smother it before it left my mouth. It was Sydney. She also wore contacts in a very dark shade of brown. Her tattoo had been expertly covered, and with the dark hair she was almost unrecognizable. It took me a second to register why she was dressed like that, and then our earlier conversation dawned on me. "What do you have to do?" I asked her. I hoped it wasn't anything too dangerous, like actually going inside as opposed to walking around the outside, but no such luck. "I have to get myself recruited. When I do that, I have to try and get myself alone in as many different rooms as possible and plant these," She held up a tiny device, no bigger than a dimeiii, it was a camera, "around the house, and the odd microphone." She added holding up another, bigger device, around the size of an old cassette; they would have to be stuck under the lid of a table to stop it from being noticed, something which couldn't be done inconspicuously. She spoke matter-of-factly, but I knew she was scared, and with good reason; it was a monumental task to do in one room, let alone an entire house. But I could see how it was necessary; surveillance on the outside was helpful, surveillance on the inside was a priceless advantage and an opportunity that couldn't be passed up.
"I got to go. Wish me luck" she said, nodded at me, then to Stan before leaving the room, to go straight into the Lion's den.
RPOV
As I awoke, every sound echoed through my head, hitting every nerve; even the tick of the clock next to me was amplified to an excruciating level. The details of last night were hazy, but I had apparently fallen asleep half on the bed, half off. My neck hurt like a bitch from the strange angle, but it wasn't anything compared to the mallet that was banging the inside of my skull to dust. I had passed out still fully dressed, including my shoes. I sat up with a groan and as the room around me span, I groaned at the queasy feeling it evoked in my head. The sloshing feeling was mostly gone after a second, but not completely. I walked to the bathroom, refusing to look in the mirror but rather going straight to the shower, stripped and got in. The hot water pouring down onto my aching body helped to make me feel better somewhat.
As I stood under the water, I thought of what I had done; and the stupidity of it. What if there had been an attack during the night? I would have been totally unable to do my duty. Honestly, Lissa could havedied,and I would have put her at that risk, and why? I was lonely, because I was too weak to deal with my own emotions. As I emerged from the shower and reluctantly looked at my reflection, the girl staring back showed, in all its stupidity, exactly what I had done last night; It was written all over my face. How was I meant to face Lissa, or the other Guardians, in this state?
As if she were reading my mind, the door knocked, and Lissa stood before me, sporting a very concerned look. "Adrian told me what he did," she started, and then looked me up and down quickly, taking in my disheveled appearance. I refused to make eye contact, but saw that there were no other Guardians; part of me was relieved, as I was saved extra embarrassment, another part told me that it wasn't safe for her in the hall alone, but mostly I wondered how she had gotten away with it. "I think we need to talk, Rose. It isn't healthy to bottle up all of your emotions. You know you can talk to me." Before I could respond, she hugged me. Suddenly I realized that I had been wrong; I wasn't alone, I never had been. I hugged Lissa back, reveling in the comfort of my best friend of fourteen years. That single embrace was like coming home. My heart still ached to have Dimitri with me, but being able to be with Lissa, just like we used to be, when we could tell each other anything, lessened the pain a little. I hadn't noticed I had started crying, but suddenly I couldn't stop myself. Lissa just held me tighter, shutting the front door with her foot, before guiding us both to the couch, where I spilled my heart out before her.
Hey guys, I know it's not very long, but ill probs add to the end of it when im back, or have a really long next chap. Also, Most of these flashbacks for Dimitri will be somewhere in the book; I like hearing DPOV, but I'm too lazy to rewrite all of the books in DPOV and I doubt i could be him justice, so I'm just adding important snippets. Most of the flashbacks in RPOV won't be from somewhere in the books, they'll probably be from between the last book and this story. Just thought I would mention while I remember to. :) Thankyou for the continued support. I love you all, I even stay up till 3:27am to make sure new chapters are published. Feel the love guys.
Gina xx
